Wot No Engines
Had the same question a year or so ago at Stansted. I managed to convince the security person that garrotting somebody with a laptop security cable was not a major threat!
My guess is that it all depends on who's asking the questions whether you 'get away with it' or not. Some consistency (at the same airport, never mind worldwide) wouldn't go amiss.
We all get a long list of "dangerous articles in baggage" with our tickets (so I no longer carry lead acid batteries or fireworks
) - it would be helpful if a similar security list could be produced.